you're a throw back to forever, in your denim jeans and leather..

today i want to talk about denim and i'd like some advice..and yes, i know what you're thinking.. you're looking back over all of my outfit posts and thinking "but you never even wear jeans!"..which would be true of the last few years..a little known fact, though, is that i used to live in jeans during my college years..and given that i have been trying to build my confidence up when it comes to wearing trousers again, i was thinking that jeans would be the next natural step..

there seems to have been such a surge in the range of denim possibilities, i decided to do a bit of searching for some of the different shapes and styles i may consider..all of these pictures are ladies jeans from marisota and i'm considering them all for different reasons:

• flares - i'm not much of a seventies fashion girl, i'm no good with maxi dresses as i trip over the hems, and i am always worried that flared trousers will make me look a bit too wide all the way down..but i really like this style, it's quite a huge flare, so definitely avoids any balanced top-to-bottom issues, giving me nothing to worry about..i like the idea of them with the heels as well..

• zipped skinnies - whilst 'skinny' is not something i would label myself, i do love that the skinny-jean trend has really taken off, and proven itself to be very flattering to all body shapes - not just the stick thin of the world..i really like the zips on these, and think they are my favourite of the lot..

• carpenter - although i wasn't aware of the term, this is the style of jeans i used to wear most often in my college days, kind of wide leg, although not quite flares, with zips and pockets galore to give them a utility feel..perfect with a pair of converse trainers..

• regular - no extra denim here, just enough to enhance curves..these would probably be perfect for everyday wear, and i can imagine them tucked into some pixie boots when the weather gets a bit worse..

which is your favourite style? and do you have any advice for me for buying the perfect pair of jeans..

now your'e stuck in the moment and you can't get out of it..

i haven't really been feeling very inspired when it comes to putting outfits together recently..i have been kind of running around like a headless chicken trying ot find something to wear and to use as a start point for an outfit each day..on this occasion, these shoes were it - i love mustard, it's one of my favourtie shades for autumn (not that the weather would have us believe it's autumn - i am LOVING the current heatwave!) i threw this primark dress on to go with the shoes, i like it but the outfit isn't exactly exciting me..that said, at the moment i really don't like what i see when i look in the mirror, i am feeling more and more that the swimming and exercise i am doing is not enough, and i need to find something that works for me, so that i can see some results, and then hopefully see some of my confidence come back..

i set my clocks early cos i know i'm always late..

 

ok, so i am reeeeally trying to make myself more comfortable in these coloured new look trousers..i have worn them lots recently, in these photos last week, and also on sunday to the car boot teamed with my wellies (not pictured as some things just don't need to be shared - was really tired and i looked a mess!) i love this apple print blouse (also new look, purchased in may this year) although i have not really had much wear from it, so when i saw it lurking in the wardrobe last week i couldn't resist.. and then i added these lovely leopard print shoe boots, which the lovely folks at kaleidoscope sent to me a few weeks ago..although i wouldn't say i was a masive fan of kitten heels, i think these are really lovely..and they are so comfy they feel like wearing flats! :) not sure how well all this actually goes together, i thought i would just throw together some things i liked!



i'm happy that this week is going a lot better than last week..whilst i did spend twelve hours at my desk yesterday, things are looking up a bit at work, and i feel like i'm back on track after my little wobble last week..mainly due to the help and support of some of my loveliest friends, and trying to be a lot more organised so things don't get on top of me again - thank you for all the words of support on here as well :)

wondering why, got out of bed at all..

i'm not really a fan of this outfit, or these photos, but there you go.. i tried to dress bright and cheerful last week to cheer myself up, as i knew i had some bad news coming my way from an appointment..it didn't really work insomuch as i wasn't that cheerful all day, but oh well..
i do like the skirt, i spotted the bird print when i was in the bullring new look store a while ago on my way home from stratford, and couldn't resist it..it's a funny length, but i wore it so that the waistband was quite high up on me, which wasn't too obvious under this h&m knitted vest..there's so many reasons why i shouldn't like this top, (it's fairly see-through, and shapeless, which makes me think frumpy) but i do keep getting drawn back to it..

and i took the opportunity to wear my irregular choice disco heaven heels, which had the right sort of colours in, and this quirky necklace from topshop whcih i managed to untangle from the mass of necklaces which really needs some more attention!

i'm just a girl in the world..

although i did end up having quite a full weekend, i managed to find the time to finish of these two dresses..one of them (the brown poodle print one) is the one i have been having help on from my sewing mentor, so although it has taken a lot longer than i would usually put something together, it's done without cutting any of the usual corners..

i couldn't wait to wear it, and decided that this mint shrug would go with the colours in the pattern on the fabric, and that my irregular choice swan shoes with the perspex heels (a nightmare to get a shoemaker to agree to replace the heel tips on!) and even found a rose ring of the same shade..now i just have to decide what i want to make next!

drink to that..

falling back on my lazy weekend outfit staples of dress, long cardigan, and hairband..it's nice to have a routine of sorts, even for a day of lazing around, (and being coerced to the pub to watch some football or other!) dress : h&m // cardigan : tesco clothing // hairband : primark

cheers to the freakin' weekend..

one of my dress-down simple weekend outfits from last weekend..i spent last saturday having breakfast out with my parents and a big wander around a large garden centre and hobbycraft (yay!) and then went to cheshire oaks in the afternoon with a friend to have a wander, but mainly to see the last harry potter film, as it seemed to be the only place still showing it - perhaps because every man and his dog have seen it by now..at least six times each..at least it meant that there was plenty of legroom..i hadn't read the last book of the series, so i was genuinely in the dark about how it was going to end; i wasn't exactly overwhelmed with the ending, but it was nice to have seen it so that the series is rounded off in my mind i guess..

dress + cardigan : new look // leggings + boots : primark // headband : handmade by me

i don't know where my home is..

   

an apology: i've been feeling quite down this week, i'm not sure i can even put a finger on the cause..i know that it's making me treat the people around me badly, and i am sorry for that..to the people in my everyday life: if i knew what was causing it i promise i would do something about it so that i didn't feel like such a horrible person when i snapped at you for not saying what you don't know that i want you to say to me.. i've also done what i always do to try and snap myself out of these feelings -i've filled up every last minute of every day with something to do, so that i don't have to be alone with my sadness..the stupid thing is that if you asked me what was making me so sad, i probably couldn't explain it..i had some results at the doctors which weren't ideal, but were expected, so i can't really blame it on that..i just feel like i can't do anything right at the moment, however much effort i put in..i know i'm too hard on myself a lot of the time, i always feel like i should be doing better..i think i feel a bit lost..

 this morning i sat down in my wardrobe room and couldn't think of one single thing i wanted to wear..which is sort of ridiculous, as i think i have more clothes than anyone i know (i'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, it's just a fact)..i got out some skirts, and couldn't think of anything i wanted to put with them to make an outfit, i looked to shoes for inspiration and didn't fancy any of them..i dragged this dress out from one of the wardrobes as i know it's not too tight on what i think is my horrible shape at the moment, and then struggled to find any shoes that were the right shade of blue..

i'm not sure if i have ever even worn these irregular choice wedges..i have them in green and black as well, and i really love the shape of them, but my feet seem to fall to the front which can be a little odd on the fit of them, as the laced-up front can be tight on the toes..i do like the polka dots though and the silver croc skin effect..

 this evening i am off to meet with my sewing mentor'; i've been really pushing myself to get the last few elements of my queen's guide award planned at least, as i only have another 18months to get it completed, and i have almost done this part.. i feel that i have put so much time and effort into it so far, that i really want to gain the award..so i'm trying to be organised (unusual for me!) and get a plan together so that i don't run out of time, as i'll be really proud if i can achieve this..then i'm off to a friends' house for takeaway and trashy tv, although we have got the final of the glee project to watch (my latest guilty pleasure show) and i read a tweet last night which ruined the end for me as it told me the winner - fail. i've promised not to tell her though! 

 tomorrow i am spending my entire day at the ironbridge world heritage festival, promoting guiding as the first event since joining the county PR and media committee..i am planning a post on the reasons i do so much to do with girlguiding uk, as recently i have been having a lot of people ask me why i devote so much of my time to it.. so i have filled up the majority of my weekend, and i plan to be a lot happier by sunday and hopefully spend the day cutting out the pieces for my next sewing project, as after this evening my new dress should be finished, and given the amount of time and effort we have put into getting it right, it ought to be a perfect fit!

the future's not ours to see..

 

what with the sudden change in weather and temperature, i have been giving more and more thought to the items which my winter wardrobe is lacking..after a little bit of research, i was pointed in this direction - womens cashmere jumpers from pure collection

i'm a big fan of layering, especially during the winter months..i find that even during the coldest months i end up being too hot if i try to wear a jumper as the top half of my outfit, so i was really interested to see that Pure offer lots of different cashmere options..a few of my favourites are:

this pretty shade of blue would be perfect with some of my autumnal plum colours, and would also lend itself to spring colours when the weather picks up again.. 

i love mustard, it's not a secret..i just think it's the perfect shade for autumn walks as it makes me think of kicking through the leaves..

 and i really want to wear this cashmere camisole with my coloured trousers and some pixie boots.. 

one of the things i especially like about this company, is the fact that their cashmere is advertised as being 100% sustainable - that's true for every one of their items..it's always lovely to read about a company who seem to genuinely believe in their policies, and my grandma would be proud; she's always telling me that cashmere is the only way to go for my knitwear needs! what's your favourite piece from the site?

girl you've got to be what tomorrow needs..

  

 does anyone else 'steal' outfit ideas from other bloggers? i guess this post is one big confession..i must admit i had never thought about putting these two items of wardrobe together until i saw Gemma doing it here on her post on the shoe girl diaries..i first stumbled across her blog when i was searching for a pair of irregular choice shoes - we share a passion for them, and also seem to have a very similar choice in dresses..and at the moment she is looking for pictures of irregular choice in action as she has challenged herself to a whole month of the lovely brand..

the pinks of the shoes and the dress seem to match almost perfectly - she's onto something there..and some little girl in the changing room at the gym seemed very impressed with my shoes, which meant that my bad mood brought on from the sheer quantity of small children messing about in the "adult lane swimming" pool was mitigated slightly..it's not as though there aren't TWO other pools, one of which is for playing in only! ffs.

down the waterfall, wherever it may take me..

i couldn't get today's title song out of my head after hearing it mentioned this morning on a radio interview, so thought i would post this outfit from a meeting last week with this cherub necklace (kind of an angel) which i bought from topshop yonks ago..someone mentioned "yonks" on twitter the other day as well, hence the reference - that's two things i have managed to let excape from my head in the first few lines of this post - amazing!

this dress is the first one i ever made by myself (well, discounting the things i used to try and create from old scraps of fabric and handstitching whilst i was in my teens!) when i took an evening class as an 'introduction to dressmaking" at a local school - definitely something i am really glad i did, and something i would recommend to anyone not knowing where to start with making their own clothes..i couldn't find the matching belt, which was a bit frustrating, as it's a little loose these days..

i wore the dress with my yellow charity-shop george cardigan, which is looking a little worse for wear as i never split my colours up to wash them - i'm a bit of a domestic slattern, what of it? - and my birthday shoes from the lovely alex to my first meeting of the county girlguiding PR committee, which i have been asked to join..i'm rather excited about it, we have a lot of ideas and are putting together a list of local shows and places which we can raise our profile across the county, and hopefully gain some more members..all with the help of our huge blue and yellow teepee!

still on a guiding note, i'm off to my first meeting of my new senior section unit this evening - eek..i'm a bit jittery about it, but i'm hoping that i will have some girls turn up (if all else fails i know my sister will be there as i am picking her up on the way!) and that we can get some kind of plan formed!

i guess that i'm a bad guy now..

apologies for the terrible quality of these photos - i was in rather a rush to take these..last week i took the bf out for dinner for his bday, although as he was at a meeting during the day, i was lulled into a false sense of outfit-security as i figured he would be so late back he would want to go another evening..he was back quicker than expected, so i ended up getting home from swimming and having about twenty minutes before i had to meet him! i threw this outfit together, as the only thing i had decided was i wanted to wear my new(ish) agent provocateur stockings - i love them so much, and have to admit they were a lot more hard-wearing than i anticipated (i had visions of putting my thumb threw them before even putting them on or something equally awful!) i must point out that the bad influence behind finding these was pearl!
the polka dot dress is probably my best ever bargain from tk maxx, i bought it during college years for a party, and have no idea of the make (it's john zack, which i haven't really heard of) but it's one i have come back to so many times, the fit, the waist and the 'pouf' of the skirt seem just right for me..
i had a little bit of a change of mind with my shoe choice, opting for this new look pair of purple heels just as i was rushing out of the door, but all in all i'm hoping that the thrown-together look wasn't too scruffy!

this week has started out a little bit stressy, but i'm feeling like i have it all under control for the most part..work has meant i've been in the office almost all night, and back again since 7am today, but all under control now i think - i didn't even have time to blog yesterday, or leave any comments, so that is next on the list!

shoes : new look // dress : tk maxx // stockings : agent provocateur // cardi : h+m

i read bad poetry, into your machine..

not entirely sure what the grumpy face is about in these photos..this is the first outfing for these new look tights i picked up thinking that they were the perfect colours for autumn! i threw the outfit on to head into town last weekend in order to take switch my library books, so i wasn't exactly dressing to impress anyone - evidently!)..i always get told it's weird that i still use the library on such a regular basis, when i received a kindle for my birthday earlier in the year..i really love the kindle, and i do use it - especially when i go away..but i still make use of my town library - it's quite a sizeable one, and i like to try out authors i haven't read before, who i may end up hating, so i feel it makes sense..

dress : apparently vintage, bought from ebay for 99p and seriously altered by me..

boots : matalan

tights : new look

belt : h+ m

bag : river island